5-Star Review for "The Summer Club" by Hannah McKinnon

Hannah McKinnon's "The Summer Club" is an absolute gem that masterfully captures the essence of a New England summer, while deftly navigating complex themes of family dynamics, social class, and inclusivity. From the first page, McKinnon immerses readers in the idyllic yet tightly wound world of Mayhaven, a beach club steeped in tradition and exclusivity.

The story centers around Darcy Birch, a young woman poised for what should be the summer of her life. However, her high-strung mother, workaholic father, and the pressures of being a summer camp counselor at Mayhaven make her summer far from perfect. McKinnon’s portrayal of Darcy’s neurodivergent little brother adds a layer of depth and authenticity to the narrative, highlighting the challenges and triumphs of fostering independence.

Enter Flick Creevy and his unconventional family, whose arrival in their RV brings a refreshing disruption to Mayhaven’s status quo. Flick’s reluctant job at the beach club and his outsider’s perspective provide a poignant contrast to the entrenched elitism of Mayhaven’s members. McKinnon skillfully explores the thin veneer of inclusivity that masks a deeper division between insiders and outsiders.

The character development in "The Summer Club" is exceptional. Darcy and Flick’s evolving relationship is both believable and heartwarming, set against a backdrop of societal expectations and personal growth. McKinnon’s writing is sharp and engaging, with just the right amount of humor and warmth.

As the summer heats up, so does the tension, leading to moments of revelation and self-discovery for both the characters and the readers. McKinnon’s ability to weave these threads together into a compelling and cohesive narrative is truly impressive.

"The Summer Club" is a perfect summer read that will appeal to fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Jennifer Weiner. It's a book that invites you to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride while also offering plenty of food for thought about the true meaning of community and belonging. An absolute must-read for anyone looking to get lost in a beautifully crafted story this summer.

Break my heart and make it mend all at the same time.

*** Thank you NetGalley and Hannah McKinnon for the ARC read***
All thoughts and opinions are mine, and mine alone

Told by Ned, his daughter Darcy, and Flick, the boy next door, this is the story of a summer at the Mayhaven Club which Ned manages. Darcy quit golf, a sport she loved, but no one seems to press her on why. Flick is unhappy with his mother's recent marriage (although her husband isn't a bad guy) and the family's move to the "country." Ned's just trying to make everything work. My favorite character is Austin, Darcy's neurodivergent brother who knows and understands more than his family suspects. Know that this conveys in many ways as close to YA, in part because two of the main characters are teens, but that there are more serious themes. It's a snapshot of classism, teen love, angst, and no spoilers as to the rest. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. woah, i thought this needed a second and third pass of edits. this was also said to be a summer book, hence the title, but it's definitely not a fun or good summer. i'm hit again with the miscommunication trope and god i hate it.

There were definitely aspects of this book that I enjoyed. There were others that were too much like a soap opera, and I just had to roll my eyes.

All in all, it's exactly what you think. The people that belong to the club are white (99.9%), privileged, and they know it. How they treat everyone else shouldn't surprise anyone. And it doesn't.

This book was ok and if you're just looking for something to pass the time, it's alright.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you, Atria Books, for the gifted copy of The Summer Club by Hannah McKinnon

Genre: Fiction
Format: 🎧📖
Pub Date: 5.14.2024
Pages: 336
Star Rating Not Given

This pains me so much to write because I absolutely adored Mckinnon's last book, The Darlings (it was a summer favorite). But, there was just something about this book that put a bad taste in my mouth. It wasn't the light summer read that it seemed like it would be, the pacing felt off and I struggled to connect with the characters.

I know that not every book can be for every person so I will definitely put The Summer Club in my Little Free Library for someone else to enjoy and then I'll start patiently waiting for Hannah McKinnon's next book (which I'm sure I'll end up loving).

This book was okay! It’s pretty predictable and I found the characters to be a bit lacking in substance. I don’t know that I would call this a beach read as it’s a little more serious in nature. I think there just really wasn’t a lot going on for me to hold my interest.

It was ok, but I wouldn’t categorize it as a beach read. Nothing about this book was light-hearted or “beachy.” It changes POV from Ned (Dad), Darcy (daughter), and Flick (new kid). There is a small POV from Adam (brother) late in the book.

Ned loves Mayhaven but is blinded by his love and unable to see the problems. Darcy has multiple issues happening and when you find out the underlying cause, you kind of get it. Flick is caught between what he knows and his new circumstances. Adam and Mossimo ended up being the characters I liked the most. I spent most of the book irritated with the main characters, but there were some sweet moments. There was a small mystery of stolen items, some big, some small. You get a slight resolution to the small items, but no answers on the larger thefts.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books- Atria/Emily Bestler Books, and Hannah McKinnon for the eARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hannah McKinnon and Simon and Schuster for an advanced copy of this book. I enjoyed reading this story. It was pretty faced paced but did have some heavier topics. There was not any major character development and was a bit predictable so that is why my rating isn't higher.

This book is told from multiple points of view, each one a character who is in someway connected with the Mayhaven Summer Club. The book as an easy, summery feel to it as different aspects of the club and it's activities are described. Each MC however has their own interests and worries, which overlap as the novel continues. I enjoyed the writing style but the story didn't really build much drama - even though there was drama, the tension didn't really build over time. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

This book was a quick read that kept my attention, but every character was such a cliche. The teenage girl was rude to her mom and had an eating disorder (that was never really addressed??), the powerful rich guy was mean and racist, the dad character was a classic good guy who you're supposed to like (I think), but he doesn't know his wife (also never really addressed besides vaguely apologizing for missing something important). Cool guy is cool and too shallow for the teenage girl, but outsider bad boy from New York is perfect. Just overall, none of this was believable or well thought out in my opinion. I also was expecting more camp-focused based on the description, but there's really only a. couple scenes from the summer camp, which was why I picked this up in the first place.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy. The Summer Club follows the antics of the Mayhaven Country Club. It is told from the perspectives of Darcy, Ned, and Flick. Some serous situations are covered by McKinnon. Some topics discussed are sexual harassment and eating disorders. I enjoyed the story and the characters. It was a quick read.

I thought this was going to be a semi light summer read but I changed my mind.
So I would say don’t expected it to be but that is just my opinion.
Just finishing it I am still not sure and I can’t put my finger on it what I liked or didn’t like about this story.
The writing was good but at times I found myself drifting away.
But then it would pick up. I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading this book because I enjoyed it at times.
I would have to say it was just a ok book and leave it at that

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I was not previously familiar with this title or author before coming across it on Netgalley. The Summer Club was decent. A little mystery, good characters. It was a litle predictable but fine.

The Summer Club by Hannah McKinnon is not the light, beachy read that I was expecting. Rowdy teens cause problems at an exclusive club in Massachusetts, rowdy adults cause problems in the town and the teen main character is hiding something that should have a trigger warning. Not a breezy beach read and not what I was expecting. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the chance to read The summer club by Hannah McKinnon. This was just a so-so read for me. It was a quick read, but the story meandered and was predictable. 21/2 stars rounded up.

Many people described this to be a fun, fast paced beach read, thus I decided to pick it up in July. Unfortunately, I didn't love it as much as I had hoped. The premise itself was intriguing, but the pace of the book was quite slow, the characters, very predictable charactures of characters I've seen in other books, and the plot itself was predictable. This might appeal to a different audience, it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was ... ok. I liked the premises and the characters were fine but there was nothing super special about it, unfortunately. It was fairly predictable, and I wouldn't necessarily consider it an easy "beach read". It was definitely worth a read, though, and I would try another of the author's books.

The Summer Club is a fresh beach read about a group of outsiders threatening the status quo at an exclusive New England beach club. Mayhaven is the best keep secret in Massachusetts. Tucked between old cedars and a spring-fed lake, the Mayhaven beach club has long been the ultimate escape to understated exclusivity. It’s the place where Darcy is supposed to be experiencing the best summer of her life, but there are a few things standing in her way. Her high-strung mother won’t stop hovering over her, her father is consumed by his job as president of Mayhaven, where she works as a summer camp counselor and things are not as rosy as they seem, and her neurodivergent little brother is struggling to live with a measure of independence not everyone is ready for.

Then there is the matter of the new neighbors. Flick, his mother, and stepfather have arrived in town, parking their enormous RV, not to mention all-night music and clouds of marijuana, in the Birches’ perfectly landscaped backyard.

Flick is not interested in the perfect summer or the girl next door. Pushed to get a job at Mayhaven by his mother, who had her eyes on a new life for their family, his own eyes have been opened to the ways of the upper crust. Even though Mayhaven prides itself on being an inclusive association of good New England families with good New England values, the fact either you’re on the inside or the outside.

This was a quick and easy read. Nothing to overly complicated. The characters were simple and could be considered a light beach read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Welcome to Mayhaven, where summer is eternal.” For Darcy and her brother, Adam, Mayhaven was where they spent their summers working, and a way of life that sometimes was just too much. Their father, Ned, had been enamored by the magic of Mayhaven since he was a little boy. He may be the newly elected President of the beach club, but he wasn’t a member, which places his family on the “have nots” side of the lake. Ned was always one rude comment away from angering the chairman of the board, who was not his friend. Ned lives in a fantasy world where Mayhaven was a utopia for perfect summer days. Golfing, swimming, delicious dinners and making new friends; who wouldn’t want to be a member?

Mayhaven is the classic New England beach club, reminiscent of days gone by when people dressed for dinner and the annual lobster boil was the highlight of the summer. Mayhaven sounds perfect to me, but the atmosphere and drama surrounding the members and employees was anything but ideal. Darcy had a crush on her new neighbor, Flick, who moved to town from New York City. Flick is a hard worker who took the time to listen to Darcy and was a good son to his mom, Josie. Not everyone paid attention to the comings and goings at Mayhaven, but one person in particular watched, listened, and remembered everything that happened.

“The Summer Club” is a character driven story and I was hard pressed to pick my favorite character because I loved all of them. Flick, Josie and Stan were fish out of water in the country but Josie just wanted her son to have a chance at a better life. Stan is larger than life and loves Josie to pieces. Flick is a young man who was dropped into the world of the New England upper crust who just wanted to find his way. Ned needed to be more available to his children because he had no clue what was going on behind closed doors. Ned’s wife Ingrid was a dedicated realtor with dreams of selling the biggest house in town, and the glue that held their family together. Her son Adam was wise beyond his years and was misunderstood by most people. His older sister Darcy was a young woman with a secret that had changed her life forever. Summer days are for escaping into someone else’s world and this book will keep you entertained all afternoon!

The Mayhaven Beach Club has been an exclusive hidden gem for the wealthy and well-connected for generations, but now outsiders are starting to exert their influence. This is the story of Darcy, who grew up on the fringes of the club, as she navigates her need to make a living and fit in without ruffling too many feathers. Great romance, great read!